


Taken

by Anubisisbunagirl



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Papyrus (Undertale)-centric, Vigilante papyrus, Worried Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27756670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anubisisbunagirl/pseuds/Anubisisbunagirl
Summary: 6 years ago, Papyrus went missing. He is presumed dead by the world, save for his brother who still holds on to the hope that Papyrus may be alive. One night, it seems Sans hopes are coming true as his missing brother ends up at his doorstep. However, something definitely happened in the six years Papyrus was gone, something that changed him.And where did he get that LV from?
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 72





	1. Toriel got dem brownies

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration for this fic just struck me in the shower and I knew I HAD to write it down!

The first thing Frisk noted while exiting their house was the sun shinning a warm soft light on the world around them. It truly was such a beautiful day.

Birds were singing. Flowers were blooming. On days like these, Frisk was likely outside hanging out with their friends and having fun.

However, as Frisk and Toriel made their way down the silent street, the mood between them was anything but fun. Toriel’s face was set in a concerned frown as they made their way down the street, her shaking hands carrying a small tin pan of brownies.

Frisk gave her a small reassuring smile, softly placing their hand on Toriel’s shaking paws. Toriel glanced at Frisk, weakly smiling at them.

“I am sorry my child,” She sighed apologetically, “It’s just… Hard to see him like this.”

‘I know’ Frisk signed with an understanding smile, ‘But I really think these visits are good for him. He’s been shut in for so long now.’

Toriel wore an expression of helplessness as she glanced back down at her brownies, “Yes. We need to be here for him. But… it’s just been so long. And it feels like he’s never going to get better.”

Frisk frowned, ‘But I think he’s at least trying! Just the other day he finally went out to the store for the first time in years!’

Toriel offered Frisk a small smile, “You’re right my child. We need to hang in there. Show him that we care.”

The two continued down the street in silence, both caught up in their own thoughts. Finally, the two paused as they stood at the driveway of a rather large house. The house was adorned with cracked and flickering Christmas lights. The front garden was completely overgrown and filled with various weeds and bugs.

Frisk and Toriel slowly made their way through the overgrown garden and to the front door, pausing at the entrance.

Heaving a sigh, Toriel adjusted her pan of brownies to knock on the door softly.

There was the small sound of shuffling from the inside, but no indication of someone coming to open the door.

“Hello? It is Frisk and Toriel. May we come in?” Toriel called, trying to peer through the window.

The smallest groan came from inside, and there were a few more sounds of scuffling, but no attempt to answer the pair or open the door.

“We know you’re in there. Please, let us in.” Toriel called again, this time a bit more forceful.

Another groan, and more shuffling, but this time the door finally swung open. A tired looking skeleton stared wearily at the boss monster and child, his ruffled clothes indicating that he had been sleeping before the pair had arrived at his house.

“Hello Sans!” Toriel smiled brightly, “We brought you some brownies!”

Sans eyes Toriel’s pan, his sockets darkening. “’m not hungry.” He mumbled.

Toriel pursed her lips, “Well… perhaps you can eat it when you are hungry!”

Sans paused, his eyes shifting from the brownies to Toriel’s concerned face.

“k.” he relented, reaching out and taking the pan from Toriel.

‘May we come in?’ Frisk signed, their eyes staring hopefully at Sans.

Sans hesitated, nervously adjusting his grip on the brownie pan. After a few seconds, he sighed. “k.”

Without another word, Sans turned back into the house, leaving the door open for Toriel and Frisk to enter.

The first thig Frisk noted while entering the house was the smell. A god aweful rotting smell as if some weird animal had died in the house. Frisk decided it would probably be best to breath through their mouth for the rest of the visit.

Toriel and Frisk were careful to avoid the trash littering the ground, making their way through an insanely messy living room and into an even messier dining room.

Toriel cleared her throat, “Uh. So I guess you haven’t exactly done any cleaning lately…”

Sans shrugged, “guess not.”

Toriel grimaced, “Well uh. No worries! How about we tidy this place up a bit!”

“k.” Sans shrugged again.

Toriel opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it. Frisk and Toriel quickly set to work, collecting trash and random food off the ground and putting them in the garbage. By the time the two finished, Sans had already seemed to fall asleep at the dining room table.

Frisk sighed, making their way over to the small skeleton. They softly shook him, startling him awake.

He glanced groggily at Frisk, “sorry kid. guess i wasn’t much help there.”

‘It’s ok.’ Frisk smiled softly, ‘You look like you needed a nap.’

Sans averted his eyes, opting to look at the ground instead. “sorry” he softly mumbled again.

“So… Sans…” Toriel made her way over, nervously fidgeting with her dress. “I uh… well I looked into some nearby jobs and I think that there’s a local coffee shop hiring. Very monster friendly.”

Sans hummed, leaning back on his chair.

“Come on Sans, you really need to get a job.”

Sans winced, scratching his skull. ‘’s fine tori.”

“No. No it’s not.” Toriel exclaimed desperately, “Sans. Please, we are worried about you. You have to move on. It’s been 6 years since Papyrus di-“

“he’s not.” Sans spoke sharply, his eyes sockets going completely black. “he’s not dead.”

Toriel swallowed nervously, “O-of course, I’m sorry.”

Toriel paused, before proceeding carefully, “It’s been 6 years since Papyrus… went missing. And I just think… that it’s time. You need to move on with your life. Please Sans.”

Sans clenched his jaw, glaring darkly at Toriel, “how can you say that?” He hissed.

Frisk stepped forward, their expression soft yet determined, ‘Sans. Please. Do this for Papyrus. He would have wanted you to continue living your life.’

“d o n t” Sans growled, “tell me what my brother would have wanted.”

“Well, as your friends, we are just worried about you. I mean, you don’t do anything all day. You don’t feed yourself. Your house looks like a trash tornado hit it. And you always seem tired and out of energy. You’re at the verge of falling down!”

Sans scoffed, turning away. “thanks for the brownies tori. but i’m gonna ask you to leave now.”

Frisk growled in annoyance, spinning Sans back to face them. They glared into his eyes sockets, quickly signing, ‘No. We want to help you. Please let us help you. Papyrus would have-‘

“YOU DON’T GET TO TELL ME WHAT PAPYRUS WOULD HAVE WANTED!” Sans roared, shoving Frisk away. “you don’t get to stand there and tell me i have to move on! you- you don’t understand what its like. what ive gone through these past 6 years! i just…”

Sans hiccupped, tears forming in his sockets. “its not the same without him.” He whispered.

Toriel rushed over, quickly holding Sans in a warm hug. “Shh… Shhh. I know Sans. I know what its like to lose someone you love. But moving on with your life doesn’t mean you forget them.”

Sans sobbed softly into Toriel’s fur, his hands desperately clinging around her neck.

Frisk bent down, softly patting Sans on his back in a comforting gesture.

“im sorry.” Sans sniffled, “y-you were only trying to help.”

Toriel smiled softly at Sans, gently rubbing his back, “It’s ok. You are going through a tough time. We just want to be able to support you the best we can.”

Sans nodded shakily, “i know.”

“We’ll be on our way now.” Toriel slowly stood up, adjusting her ruffled dress. “Please do think about that job offering Sans.”

Sans nodded slowly, “i will. thanks tori. thanks kid.”

Toriel offered a small smile before motioning for Frisk to follow her out the door.

‘Take care Sans. I’ll come back tomorrow.” Frisk quickly signed before turning to follow Toriel.

“Oh, and Sans?” Toriel called, standing at the doorway.

“y-yeah?”

“You really must try those brownies. They are delicious.” Toriel smiled warmly, before leaving the house.

Sans snickered softly, before turning towards the living room. He tiredly stumbled to the couch, collapsing onto the cushions. Still weeping softly, he drifted off to sleep.

_\--_  
_Two figures made their way down the dark street, the flickering streetlights casting deformed shadows on the sidewalk._

_The taller of the two dramatically adjusted his red scarf, marching loudly down the street. The smaller one followed a step behind, his hands in his pocket, and slouched over slightly._

_“BROTHER, PLEASE TRY TO KEEP UP.” The taller spoke, annoyance evident in his nasally voice._

_“sorry bro, guess i should really ketchup.”_

_The taller sighed in exaggeration, “OH BROTHER, THAT ONE WASN’T EVEN GOOD.”_

_The smaller grinned lazily, but he picked up his pace every so slightly. The two continued down the street in silence, enjoying the cool night._

_Suddenly, the taller figure faltered, their hands quickly reaching through their pockets. “DRAT.” He sighed, “IT WOULD SEEM I FORGOT MY PHONE AT THE RESTURAUNT.”_

_“aww man, i knew something seemed phone-y”_

_The taller rolled his eyes, scoffing, “PLEASE, THIS IS SERIOUS. I AM GOING TO GO BACK TO THE RESTURAUNT. YOU CAN GO AHEAD TO THE HOUSE; I WILL BE THERE SHORTLY.”_

_“you sure bro?” The smaller tilted his head in concern at the taller._

_“YES. NO PROBLEM. I’LL BE QUICK!” The taller smiled reassuringly, gesturing to his brother to continue on the path home._

_“all right bro.” The smaller shrugged, turning towards the direction of their house. “and pap? i love you.”_

_Papyrus snickered softly, “AND I LOVE YOU SANS. I WONT BE TOO LONG.” He gave one last wave before turning back and jogging into the darkness from whence they came._

_Sans paused, watching his brothers form fade into the night, before turning away and teleporting into their house. He collapsed on his bed, comforted by the thought of his brother returning soon and asking him for a bedtime story._

_But there would be no bedtime story that night. Or ever again._

_Because in a mere 48 hours, Papyrus Font would officially be declared missing_.

\---

A loud knock startled Sans from his sleep, causing him to fall from the couch.

“wa-woozit?” Sans called blearily, fumbling on the floor.

There was no answer, simply another knock.

Sans grumbled softly, staggering to his feet. He glanced towards the window, it seemed it was night time already. Who the heck would be knocking this late?

The knock sounded again, urgent and loud.

“’m comin’.” Sans mumbled, making his way slowly to the door. “Waddya-“

The question died in his throat as Sans opened the door. Sans could do little but gawk at the figure before him, eyelights a small pinprick in his sockets.

A figure stood before him, a shaky smile on their face, gloved hands fidgeting nervously.  
“S-sans?” The figure spoke softly, “Hello.”

“Papyrus?” Sans breathed in disbelief. 


	2. Dis boi need sum milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk decides they are going to knuckle down with Sans, they only want what's best for him, and what's best is if he finally goes out and gets a job. However, something big has happened since the last time they visited him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ackkk!! Thank you all for the kudos and comment!! :V they KEEP ME ALIVE!

Frisk yawned for what felt like the tenth time that morning, sleepily sipping their coffee. They glanced at the clock; it was only 8 am. Sighing, Frisk stood up to get another refill on their coffee.

Noon, just wait until noon…

Frisk shuffled through the kitchen, returning with a full mug of coffee back to the table. After a small sip of the hot coffee, they flipped restlessly through the packet of papers laying on the table, looking over the documents.

They had spent hours the previous night compiling a list of job applications for Sans, checking each job listing carefully to make sure they were monster friendly. Although it had been more than 7 years since the monsters had arrived at the surface, there were still many humans out there that actively hated monsters.

But Frisk and their family along with Sans had moved to a decently monster friendly neighborhood about 4 years ago. Toriel had even gotten a job as a teacher at a local monster-human school. One of the first of its kind.

Most monsters however relied on other monsters to employ them, such as Alphys and Undyne who were both employed by Asgore. Seeing as Asgore acted as an important ambassador for monster kind, he enlisted Undyne to act as his bodyguard. Alphys acted as his main consultant, creating and making plans for ways to improve the monsters lives on the surface.

Frisk frowned, they hadn’t seen Alphys and Undyne in such a long time. After they had moved with Sans away from Ebott, the couple must have been too busy to keep communications with Frisk. Frisk understood, but there was something isolating and bittersweet about not seeing all the friends Frisk had made in the underground.

It may also have had to do with… Papyrus’ death. Undyne had never quite been the same after that, acting a bit harsher and colder. Not that Frisk could blame her. They could tell how much Undyne was hurting.

But not nearly as much as Sans. After Papyrus had gone, Sans spent years working with the police, desperately trying to find him. And when Papyrus was officially presumed dead, he had shut himself off from the world. Still holding on to hope that his brother was alive, continuing the investigation on his own for 3 years.

He didn’t know how to take care of himself anymore, and Frisk was honestly very worried. Frisk wanted nothing more than to help Sans, but he was being frustratingly avoidant.

Well not this time. Frisk grimaced with determination. They were going to help Sans get back on his feet. No matter what it took. They were going to march over to his house, force him to read the list of job opportunities they had compiled, and he was going to get out there and assert himself.

Frisk was so caught up in their own thoughts, they didn’t notice Toriel descending the stairs until Toriel paused right behind them.

“Good morning my child.” Toriel smiled softly, ruffling Frisk’s hair.

‘Morning mom!’ Frisk signed back brightly.

“What are you doing up so early?” Toriel questioned, glancing at the papers laid out in front of Frisk.

Frisk paused, glancing sheepishly at the documents they had made, ‘I was hoping I could head over to see Sans.’

Toriel pursed her lips, “He seems… unstable right now. I don’t know if we should still be bugging him.."

‘We can’t keep pushing this off forever!’ Frisk signed urgently, ‘He has to realize what he’s doing is unhealthy.’

Toriel sighed, “I’m still unsure about this my child. I have class today, so I’ll be gone from 8:45 to 7. Perhaps we should do this another day.”

Frisk shook their head quickly, ‘It’s fine. I can go on my own today.’

Toriel furrowed her brow, “Are you sure my child? I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

‘I’m not a little kid anymore!’ Frisk pouted, ‘Believe me, I can handle myself. And Sans needs me.’

Toriel looked searchingly at Frisk, conflicted. She finally sighed, wrapping Frisk in a warm hug. “Alright my child, I trust you. Just please be safe.”

Frisk smiled, nuzzling into Toriel’s fur. “Promise.” They spoke softly.

The two remain in the hug for a little, before Toriel softly pulled away.

“Now my child, what do you want for breakfast?”

\---  
  


_The mood within the police station was somber that afternoon, officers bustled about speaking in hushed whispers._

_Frisk glanced nervously towards the head officer standing on the small podium looking over his notes. He wore a scowl on his face as he read through his documents, his left eye twitching slightly._

_Frisk softly squeezed the boney hand they were holding, glancing back towards their skeletal companion._

_Sans wore an unreadable expression as he gazed emptily at the podium, sockets as dark as coal. Frisk gave his hand another squeeze, trying to reassure their short friend. But he made no reaction to Frisk, simply continuing to gaze at the podium._

_Frisk removed their hand from San’s, snapping to get his attention. ‘It will be ok Sans.’ Frisk offered, giving him a small smile._

_Sans let out a small sigh, bringing his arms to rest on his knees. “i sure hope so, kid.” He mumbled._

_Frisk flinched at just how tired he sounded, it sounded as though he hadn’t slept in months. And honestly, Frisk wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. He spent basically every second at the station now, trying to help the police as much as he could with the search for his younger brother._

_But Frisk could tell the officers were slowly getting less enthusiastic with the search, slowly giving up on the idea of finding their tall skeletal friend. And to be honest, even Frisk was slowly giving up hope. It had been 2 and a half long years of searching and if they were going to find Papyrus, they probably would have by now._

_A loud clap snapped Frisk’s attention towards the podium at the front of the room. The head police officer had finally finished looking over his documents and he was ready to make the announcement. He wore a grim expression on his face as he looked over the crowd of somber policemen._

_“2 years ago, the monster named Papyrus Font disappeared.” His eyes slowly made their way over to Sans, looking towards the short skeleton with what may have been sympathy, “We searched far and wide for where he may have gone, but we could not find a single trace. And after 2 years of our search, we have little to show for it. Not even a single fingerprint, or sign of where he may have gone.”_

_Frisk soundlessly sought out Sans’s hand with their own, softly grabbing the skeletons hand in an expression of comfort._

_“And it is with a heavy heart,” Frisk’s hand tightened around Sans’s, “that we must declare that Papyrus Font is assumed to be dead at his point.”_

_A soft murmur filled the air, as the officers in the room glanced towards Sans sympathetically. Frisk too glanced at their friend, nervously gauging his reaction. Sans simply stared ahead, his sockets dark, and face expressionless._

_‘Sans-‘_

_A loud clang sounded as Sans stood up abruptly. Without a word, he disappeared._

_Frisk desperately grabbed towards him, but their hands caught empty air. He was gone._

_Frisk felt a small sob rise in their throat as they put their face in their hands. The police officers slowly approached Frisk, muttering words of comfort and seeing if they were ok._

_But Frisk was_ _more worried about Sans. There was no way he was going to take the news well._

_And they were right to be worried._

\---  
By the time Frisk arrived at Sans’ house, it was already 20 minutes past noon. Certainly, a little later than Frisk had planned to arrive, printing off their list of jobs had taken longer than they had expected.

Frisk marched through the overgrown front yard and arrived at the front doorstep. Frisk sighed, preparing themselves for a few minutes of pestering to be allowed entry, and knocked on the door.

Frisk had barely knocked before the door swung open.

“pap?” Sans asked urgently, his sockets wide.

Frisk stepped back in surprise, making a small noise of confusion. Sans looked them over, expression turning into one of disappointment.

“ah, hey kid.” Sans mumbled nervously, looking away from Frisk.

Frisk titled their head in confusion towards Sans, ‘Were you expecting someone?’

Sans whipped his back towards Frisk, sockets wide. He chuckled nervously, “here, why don’tcha come in, kid.”

Sans stepped back, allowing Frisk to enter his house. He glanced at the street behind Frisk as they entered, searching for something. When he found nothing, he sighed before closing the door behind Frisk.

Sans quickly ushered Frisk to the dining room and motioned for them to sit down. Frisk sat down, noting the brownie tin laying forgotten in the same place it had been the day previous.

‘You didn’t touch the brownies?’ Frisk frowned.

“huh? oh yeah, whatever kid.” Sans said dismissively, looking around the living room distractedly.

‘What’s going on Sans?’ Frisk questioned, watching their friend with concern.

Sans stumbled a bit as he jerked his head towards Frisk. He scratched his head nervously, eye lights darting around the house sporadically.

“i-its.. it was… ah” Sans laughed nervously, rubbing his eye sockets. “ye ‘aint gonna believe this…”

Frisk stood up, rushing over to Sans. They knelt down next to him and grabbed his hands, “what is it?” they whispered softly.

Sans stared Frisk dead in the eye, his eye lights quivering nervously. “i-its paps.” He breathed.

Frisk furrowed their brow, a fluttery feeling entering their stomach. They reached their hands back from grasping Sans.

‘What do you mean?’ they signed slowly.

“last night.” Sans whispered urgently, “it was him. he appeared at the front door. he looked tired, disheveled. he asked to be let in. i-i couldn’t believe it. it was really him.”

Frisk frowned; their hands began to shake slightly as they felt a cold feeling pass over them. ‘Sans. Where is he now?’

But Sans didn’t seem to be paying attention, he was just breathing heavily, staring right through Frisk. “it was him.” He was sobbing slightly now, “my baby bro. he was alive.”

“Sans.” Frisk snapped, calling his attention back to them, ‘Where is he now?’ They signed urgently.

Sans blinked in confusion, his gaze darting from Frisk towards the kitchen rapidly. “i uh. i dun know. when he came in, he looked like he had been to hell and back. and he looked so tired. i lead him back to my room, and…” Sans frowned, “when i woke up he was… g-gone again.”

Frisk bit their lip, a sinking feeling in their stomach. ‘when he show up?’

“last night. he woke me up from a nap.”

Frisk grimaced, ‘so... you were asleep?'

“i- wha-“ Sans desperately grabbed Frisk, shaking them slightly, “you gotta believe me kid! you believe me, right?”

Frisk winced, pushing Sans’s hands off them carefully, ‘I think… that maybe you were tired. And you had a dream, and-‘

“IT WASN’T A DREAM!” Sans cried in anguish, his left eye flaring blue, “it was him. it had to be him. p-papyrus…”

Frisk quickly stood up; their hands raised in fear. Perhaps Toriel had been right about Sans being unstable.

‘Look, how about I cook you some lunch. And we can talk about this.’

Conflicting emotions rippled across San’s face, his hands still shaking slightly, and the cyan ball of light in his left eye flickering. After a few seconds of contemplation, Sans finally sighed. His eye light flickered out, leaving empty sockets in their wake.

“ok…” he muttered, dejectedly shuffling towards the dining room table and sitting down.

Frisk offered a small smile, before turning into the kitchen and collecting ingredients.

Frisk was sure Sans had been dreaming, after all, how could Papyrus disappear for 6 years and just randomly show up at the door only to disappear again the next morning.

But there was something off about this entire situation, and it was making Frisk feel weird. Frisk pulled out their phone, quickly dialing a number.

“Hey mom,” they mumbled into the receiver, “I think you better hear this...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, this is one of those times where I write like mad every day for this fic, then like slow down half way through. Uploads will be sorta random. Sorry.  
> But I at least have most of the storyline fleshed out, I just gotta keep to the script!


	3. Therapy is probably in order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :V Sorry this came soooo late!  
> I legit wrote this at like 1 am. yall, its 4 am I am sooo tired. I wrote WAY more than I planned to!  
> Lmao, if there are errors ill fix them when I wake up. :P

Apparently, the only things in San’s cabinets were a half empty jar of peanut butter and several bottles of ketchup. Frisk opted to make some PBJ sandwiches, without the jelly of course. It wasn’t exactly the best item for lunch, but it was at least something. And after what Frisk could only presume was a mental breakdown from Sans, they were honestly fine with anything to divert the attention off that subject.

As Frisk bustled around in the kitchen, Sans made little noise. A quick check into the dining room let Frisk know that he was just sitting and staring blankly at the table.

… Well that was concerning…

Frisk sighed, returning to spreading the peanut butter on a slice of bread. They were unsure of what they were supposed to do about that whole dream thing. Sans seemed absolutely convinced he had seen Papyrus but…

Frisk grimaced, slowly putting down the butter knife they had been spreading peanut butter with. Frisk knew it was impossible. Papyrus had been missing for 6 years. Why would he suddenly come back now? Besides, Sans was in a weird state of mind and he had been sleeping before it happened. And why would Papyrus just mysteriously disappear in the morning. It all pointed to it being nothing more than a dream in Sans’ head.

But then… why did Frisk feel as though they were missing something. Something important.

Well either way, the best course of action would be for Frisk to maybe steer away from the subject, right? Would that be a good idea? Would it be better to address the dream? How could Frisk make Sans feel better?

Frisk just felt overwhelmed by all this. It was just… so frustratingly difficult. Frisk could feel small tears prick at their eyes as they sniffled softly. Frisk wanted so badly to help Sans get better, but it seemed like every time they were even making slight progress, Sans just relapsed back into depression.

Frisk wanted so desperately to know what they could do to make Sans feel better, but it all fell flat. Even Toriel was at a loss with Sans, and Toriel was amazing at helping Frisk whenever they were down.

Frisk frowned, remembering the phone conversation they had just had with Toriel. Unfortunately, Toriel still had a job so they were barely able to talk with her, but they had explained what happened with Sans when they arrived. Toriel seemed to be as lost as Frisk was. But she suggested that Frisk just sit down and listen to what Sans wanted to say.

Frisk sighed, a feeling of tiredness weighing at them. They weren’t sure if the tiredness was from their lack of sleep the night previous, or if it had been there for a long time. But they couldn’t feel tired right now.

Because…

Because Sans needs them.

And they have to be there for Sans no matter what.

Frisk nodded, hastily wiping the tears from their eyes. They picked up the butter knife and resumed their task of making peanut butter sandwiches. They could at least get Sans something to eat.

To be honest, Frisk didn’t know what they were going to do about the whole ‘dream’ situation. But they were determined to be there for Sans.

He needed them.

\---

_Frisk positively loved going to the mall._

_It was always filled with loud chattering crowds and brightly colored stores, but there was some charm in the chaos. Frisk went to the mall at least once a week with Toriel, and it was always so much fun._

_But this time, the mall seemed emptier than usual. Frisk figured it made sense, it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday. Most people would be at work or in school. Besides, Toriel had suggested Frisk go on this day specifically because the mall would be emptier._

_It would be easier for Sans that way._

_Frisk snuck a glance at their skeletal companion as the two trudged through the empty walkway. His eye lights shifted around as he took in the various stores, though his expression remained mostly blank. Sans seemed to be at least mildly interested in the mall around him, and that was more than Frisk could ask for._

_Frisk squeezed his boney hand, offering him a big grin. ‘I love going into that store!’ They signed happily, pointing towards a rather small candy store with a brightly colored display at the window. ‘I like the taffy there. And mom likes to get this weird cotton candy swirl!’_

_Sans gave a small hum, looking the shop over with a wisp of interest. His expression barely shifted as he took in the bright neon signs adorning the store entrance. It was a little disheartening to Frisk, but they couldn’t give up! They were determined to make Sans smile at least once while at the mall._

_Frisk tilted their head to the side, trying to come up with an idea of what Sans might enjoy. He liked sciency things, right?_

_Frisk quickly set off down the mall, pulling Sans behind them. They knew every store in the mall. And more importantly, they knew exactly what store would help Sans feel better._

_The pair quickly arrived at a large store named “Stars and Beyond”. It hosted a large array of beautiful model planets and expertly crafted telescopes. Frisk excitedly gestured towards the shop, looking towards Sans to gauge his reaction._

_Sans seemed puzzled as he stared at the various telescopes lined up at the window. It wasn’t a smile, but at least it was something other than that blank expression he seemed to wear every day. Frisk counted that as a victory._

_“Come on!” They exclaimed softly, dragging Sans into the shop._

_By the time the two left the store, Sans seemed to be in somewhat of a better mood. He held a small model of the planet Mars in his boney hands, carefully cradling the item as if he was scared it’d leap from his hand at any moment._

_Frisk excitedly noted Sans’ contented expression as the two made their way over to the food court. Things were starting to look up for their shopping trip. And who knows, maybe Sans would be in a good enough mood to skip going to the police station again._

_Frisk knew he always went to the police station every night without fail._

_He practically lived there at this point._

_But the mood was always depressing at the police station. It always seemed to drain the little energy Sans had left when he spent hours sitting in the police office asking the officers the same questions about his brother, as if he’d get a different answer._

_Frisk knew he needed to spend time doing something else. Thinking about something else. So, they had begged and begged and finally, he had agreed to go to the mall with them. This was groundbreaking; Frisk hadn’t spent time with Sans outside of doing something related to the search of Papyrus for 3 whole years._

_And… maybe it was foolish… but Frisk hoped this could be something that might help Sans finally move on. He was on the road to recovery, he just needed Frisk to help him on that road. And Frisk was determined to do their best!_

_The duo finally arrived at the food court, strolling around the restaurants in search of a place to eat._

_‘Ooh, how about that hot dog place?’ Frisk signed cheerfully._

_Sans shrugged._

_‘Or, we could go to that fast food place everyone is talking about. McDonalds or something.’ Frisk suggested, smiling at their friend._

_Sans titled his head slightly, giving Frisk a small hum._

_‘Or we could go to that fancy Italian place.’ Frisk giggled, ‘I think it’s new. They have all sorts of cool foods like pizza, lasagna, spaghetti-‘_

_Frisk paused, a sinking feeling in their stomach as the weight of what they just said dawned on them._

_*crack*_

_Frisk flinched, turning their head to gaze in horror at the cracked Mars model lying on the floor. Nervously, Frisk raised their gaze to meet the shaking skeleton that had just dropped said model._

_He was rattling violently, his sockets completely dark as a swarm of emotions overtook his face._

_“Sans, I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“Frisk quivered, reaching towards the skeleton shakily. They had to fix this. They had to do something to calm him down, but what?_

_Sans flinched away from their touch, stepping back with large steps. Tears bloomed in his sockets, falling to the floor in small drops of blue._

_He took a shuddering breath, “’s fine. i should get back to the station though.” Barely looking at Frisk, he quickly turned around, disappearing behind a corner and out of Frisks sight._

_“Wait, Sans!” Frisk quickly sprinted after the skeleton, but to their dismay he wasn’t around the corner. He must have shortcut somewhere, most likely the police office._

_Frisk let out a small whimper, falling slowly against the wall onto the ground._

_They had really screwed this up, hadn’t they?_

_Things were going so well; Sans was finally taking a break and he had been distracted and-_

_Then Frisk just HAD to say something stupid without thinking and now Sans has suffered a breakdown._

_Frisk was trying so hard to help their friend, but they weren’t doing enough. They just had to try harder. Do better._

_Sniffling slightly, Frisk slowly rose from the ground._

_Casting one last look towards the Italian restaurant, they slowly turned around and headed back home._

\---

The lunch commenced in complete silence, not that Sans was complaining.

He really wasn’t in the mood to be near Frisk. Not that he didn’t appreciate everything the kid was doing. It was just frustrating that they weren’t willing to believe him! He didn’t even want to be at the table, blankly eating a peanut butter sandwich. How was he supposed to just sit around when Papyrus was-

Sans shuddered slightly; Papyrus was alive. He was. He had to be. Sans wasn’t dreaming when he saw him the night before, Sans was sure. He hadn’t had a dream about Papyrus in a long time, and this time felt different from all those dreams.

Sans could still smell the slightly earthy smell emanating from Papyrus when he had buried his head, sobbing into his brothers scarf that night. His brother had felt so warm, bundled up in a large coat Sans hadn’t recognized.

Sans could still hear his brothers sobbing voice as he had hugged Sans tightly, shakily telling him how much he loved and missed him. Promising him that he would never disappear like that again.

Sans’ eye sockets darkened, his head slowly lowering. His brother had promised. He had promised the night before, and then he had disappeared the next morning.

Sans wanted to throw his sandwich to the other side of the room and scream. HE HAD HIS BROTHER BACK. He had held him, hugged him, promised he wouldn’t let him go and then-

His brother had disappeared again.

And now Frisk didn’t believe him. No one would believe him.

He had to find Papyrus. Papyrus could be in danger. He could have been abducted or...

Sans sighed, eye lights flitting rapidly around the room. He couldn’t go out to find Papyrus. What if Pap came back? He knew where Sans lived now. What if he had just left for some reason and was going to come back again.

Sans had to stay, he had to be here for his brother. If his brother showed up again at his doorstep, looking so tired and lost, Sans had to be there.

Frisk and Sans continued to eat in silence, Frisk finishing their sandwich with one last bite. Sans was so caught up in his own thoughts he barely noticed when Frisk meekly picked up the papers they had brought and made their way to the door.

“hmm? oh bye kid.” Sans muttered distractedly, giving Frisk a halfhearted wave.

Frisk looked towards him worriedly, seemingly conflicted. After some hesitation, they finally muttered an “I’ll be back tomorrow” before quietly leaving the house.

Sans was left to ruminate over his thoughts, trying to decide about what he was going to do. He could go out and look for Papyrus. But where would he even start? There were no leads. His brother had said little to him the night before, when he had appeared on his doorstep. The two had been so busy sobbing and telling each other how much they missed the other to even address where Papyrus had been those 6 years.

By the time Sans finally decided to stay in the rest of the day and hope his brother would return, it had already grown dark outside.

Sans titled his head in confusion, looking down at his barely touched peanut butter sandwich. How long had he been sitting there thinking about what to do?

In a daze, Sans dropped his sandwich in the trash, slowly heading towards his room. Maybe his brother had left a clue from the night before to where he had gone. However, as Sans gazed around his messy room, he found little indication that Papyrus had even been in there.

Sans felt his soul grow tight, his eyes lights going dark once again. What if Frisk was right? What if it really had been a dream?

Sans began to shake slightly, slowly closing the door to his room. Maybe he just imagined everything that happened. But if that was true then Papyrus was… he was still…

Sans let out a roar, furiously swinging his clenched hand towards the wall. A loud crack filled the space as Sans fist made contact. However, he barely noticed the pain that came with it. Thousands of emotions overwhelmed him at once, frustration, despair, annoyance, helplessness. He just felt so useless. He was so deep in his own thoughts; he couldn’t tell what was real and what was fake anymore.

Breathing heavily, Sans tried to get a hold of his thoughts, trying to force himself to calm down. He couldn’t do anything when he was acting so irrationally. Sans had decided long ago that endless sadness or anger wasn’t going to do him any good.

His bro needed him.

His bro needed him to be rational.

Sans slowly unclenched his fists, focusing on his surroundings. He let his emotions fade away into the empty grey he had grown accustomed to. He couldn’t let emotions get the best of him, he had to-

Sans paused as he finally noticed where he had punched.

It wasn’t a wall.

It was a door.

Sans noted the slight crack and indent his fist had caused, but that wasn’t what he was most concerned with.

The door he had punched just so happened to be the door into his brothers’ room.

Sans let out a small whimper, slowly tracing the crack he had caused on the door. A thought suddenly occurred to Sans. Papyrus’s room was the one place Sans hadn’t looked this morning. It was the one hope left that might reveal something about where Papyrus had gone.

If Papyrus had gone in and left something, it could indicate where he may have gone!

However... Sans doubted Papyrus would have stepped foot into the room. He couldn’t have known who the room was for.

But if there was even the slightest chance it could help…

Heaving a sigh, Sans slowly turned the doorknob, stepping into the musty room of Papyrus.

\---

_Sans gazed emptily at the room, a strange feeling in his soul._

_Sans honestly didn’t understand why he was feeling so sentimental. He had literally never been in this room before; it wasn’t as though he had any memories in here. Perhaps it was what the room represented. Or perhaps it was the idea of placing his brother’s things in this room._

_Sans felt a small bump against his back followed by a squeak. He turned his head around to find a sheepish Frisk, adjusting the big box they were holding._

_“Sorry Sans” they spoke softly, giving Sans an apologetic grin. “I didn’t see you standing there.”_

_“’s ok.” Sans muttered, offering back a tired smile. Sans quickly stepped to the side, allowing Frisk to stumble in with their box. The small 12-year-old let out a small groan as they carefully placed the box on the ground._

_‘I think that’s the last of it!’ Frisk smiled at Sans._

_“Thanks kiddo.” Sans sighed, ruffling Frisk’s hair lightly._

_Frisk swelled up at the gesture, bouncing excitedly on their toes. ‘So, what do you think of the house?!’_

_Sans hesitated, his eye lights shifting to look at the ground. “i don’t know ‘bout this, kid. i appreciate you and tori inviting me here but…”_

_Sans’ shoulders slumped, “maybe i shoulda stayed in my old house. what if pap comes back and im not-“_

_Sans felt himself begin to rattle, his thoughts filling with images on his cold brother standing outside the door of their old house, waiting for Sans to let him in._

_‘Hey, hey’. Frisk quickly signed, calling Sans back into reality. ‘We’ll find pap! Believe me. The police are looking into it and it’s been more than a year already. They’re gonna find him soon, I believe in them!’_

_Sans slowly stilled his quivering bones, giving Frisk a grateful look. “you’re right kid. they’ll find pap, and when they do.” Sans glanced around the empty room, the strange feeling filling his soul again, “we’ll have this room ready for him.”_

_Frisk nodded enthusiastically, eagerly flinging the boxes open. ‘Let’s get started!’ they exclaimed, giving Sans a toothy grin._

_The pair worked for the entire day, setting up furniture and decorating the room with various objects. Small slightly broken action figures, various worn books, a large black skull and bones flag, and a lovingly crafted race car bed. It looked almost identical to Papyrus’s old room._

_Finally, Frisk and Sans both sat on the ground, tired from their hard work._

_“its perfect.” Sans breathed, patting Frisk on the back. “he’s going to love it.”_

_“SANS! FRISK! I HAVE PREPARED DINNER DOWNSTAIRS!” Toriels voice called from below._

_“comin’, give us a few more minutes.” Sans called back, shooting Frisk a wink._

_Frisk giggled, squirming slightly from their position on the ground._

_A moment of silence passed between the two, both staring at the finished room. Frisk glanced towards Sans briefly, examining the expression on his face. It seemed to be a mix of emotions. Frisk could identify hints of sadness, worry and some other emotion. Frisk frowned, trying to understand what his expression meant._

_They hadn’t seem him show any expressions besides worry and sadness the past few months. But this time, there was some sort of extra expression hidden in his face. Something... hopefull. Maybe setting up this room had connected him closer to his brother. Or given him renewed hope that they would find Papyrus and bring him home. Either way, the expression filled Frisk with DETERMINATION._

_Finally, after a few minutes, Sans slowly stood up._

_“come on, kid. let’s see what tori cooked up.”_

_Frisk shot up from the ground, cracking a grin at Sans. They bolted out the door, heading towards Toriel at record speed._

_Sans was a little slower, pausing at the doorway to give the room one last look over._

_“you’ll see it when you come back. i know you’ll love it, bro.”_

\---

Sans stared emptily at the room; his sockets dark.

He hadn’t been in this room for years. Not since he and Frisk had first set it up.

It was supposed to be for Papyrus if-

…

_When_ he came home.

Sans slowly entered the room, looking at every small decoration with a bittersweet feeling. He slowly traced his finger through the line of dust resting on the desk. 

Everything was super dusty. It was no surprise, but it made him feel immensely sad. If Papyrus saw the state of his room, he’d have a fit.

Sans let out a weak laugh, tears blooming in his sockets.

Yeah, Pap would yell at him for sure.

…

But all Sans could hear was the sobs of his brother as he hugged Sans tightly the night before. Promising him that he would never leave Sans again.

If that even was his brother. If that had actually happened and it wasn’t just a dream.

Sans sniffled softly, wiping the tears from his sockets. Well, it was clear that no one had been in this room. There wasn’t much he could find here that would indicate where Pap may have gone.

So, Sans left, softly closing the door behind him. Letting the room rest in its preserved state.

After all, Papyrus would need it when he came back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :V Sorrrryyyyy another no pap! XD  
> I started writing and suddenly I went off the script I had planned because I just wanted to dive into how Frisk feels through all this.  
> Anyways, I PROMISE pap will appear again within the next few chapters.  
> If he doesn't then I'll owe yall extra chapters to make up for it.


	4. Undyne the Uncrying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans receives a call from a very worried Undyne. Meanwhile, Undyne handles the stress of the re-introduction of Papyrus's disapearence into her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yallll sorrryyy!!! It's 3 am!  
> I'll revise this when I wake up, lol. 
> 
> Also, MAJOR thanks to all the kudos and comments. I'm literally the happiest person in the planet when I read all your kind words. <3 
> 
> Also, expect some fan art in the next chapter! (Is it fanart if you drew it for your own fic? Lol).

Sans woke to a strange buzzing sound filling his skull.

He groaned, shifting his position on the couch slightly. His skull was throbbing something fierce and every part of his body felt sore. He slowly sat up, his spine popping loudly as he did so. He really shouldn’t have slept on the couch; it was disgustingly lumpy and uncomfortable.

Sans frowned, why had he been sleeping on the couch? He tried to remember the night before, but his mind felt like it was slush. He had been… checking around the house? And then he had gone down and…

Sans glanced around the room, his soul sinking as he noticed the countless empty beer bottles and ketchup bottles littering the floor. Had he drunk all that? Well, he supposed that would explain his killer hangover.

Sans remembered flashes of the night before, most consisting of him crying alone on the couch, downing one beer after another and softly calling out for his brother to return. Sans hadn’t drunk that hard since… the night the police declared his brother dead.

As Sans continued to stare absentmindedly around the room, he felt himself sway slightly as a wave of nausea overtook him. He slowly leaned further off the couch, eventually falling onto the floor with a soft ‘thump’.

Sans hissed as the pain in his skull flared up again. He fumbled on the floor, reaching up towards the couch to push himself off the ground. As Sans stood up again, he felt his head swimming with nausea, but he managed to remain upright this time.

Unfortunately, this new wave of nausea brought with it an intense feeling of needing to throw up. Sans barely had any time to make his way to the kitchen sink before a large build up of blue bile made its way up to his mouth. Sans gagged as the bile escaped him, falling to the floor with a disgusting ‘squish’.

Sans wiped the splattered bile off his face, hazily glancing around; he had an unsettling feeling in his soul. He felt as though he was forgetting something very important, but he couldn’t quite place what. Sans closed his eyes, letting the sharp pain in his head wash over him. He should really drink some water.

Sans clumsily made his way towards the kitchen, the buzzing sound he had been hearing the whole morning slowly fading away. He made himself a glass of water and slowly sipped at it. He still felt somewhat nauseas, but he was beginning to feel more stable as he drank the water. 

Sans thought back to what he had been doing the night before, he knew it had something to do with Papyrus…

He had gone to Pap’s room, and after that he had gone downstairs and waited, hoping for another miracle just like the night before. But as the hours had passed by and there was still no sign of his brother, he had begun pulling out beers from his stash and downing them one by one. Sans figured he must have passed out after a while on the couch.

Sans jolted suddenly, shit. How could he have fallen asleep? He had planned to stay awake all night on the off-chance Papyrus somehow appeared again. Sans felt jittery as he clumsily stood up, maybe his brother had managed to some home after he was passed out. Maybe he was in the house right now!

“Pap?” Sans croaked; his voice scratchy. He made his way through the house, leaving no room unchecked. He honestly didn’t know what he was hoping to find, maybe his brother sleeping peacefully on his bed? As ridiculous as it sounded, Sans couldn’t help but feel nervous as he checked each room.

Much to Sans disappointment however, there was no sign of his brother ever coming into the house. He had figured as much, but it still felt incredibly disappointing as his search turned up nothing.

Sans slowly made his way back towards the living room, slouched and feeling shittier than ever. He considered just taking out some more beer and drowning himself in alcohol again, not like it mattered anyways. However, as he made his way into the living room, he noticed the buzzing sound from earlier had returned.

Sans frowned, glancing around the room curiously. It hadn’t been a side effect of his hangover like he had assumed it to be, but then what was it?

It wasn’t long before Sans spotted his vibrating phone sitting on the table next to the couch. He made his way over, a fluttery feeling beginning in his soul.

Could it be…

Was it?!

Pa-

Sans halted as he finally saw the caller ID, any feeling of hope quickly dissipating.

It was Undyne.

Sans sighed, slowly picking up his phone. Why did he even bother getting his hopes up with that one. What was he expecting, Papyrus to just be randomly calling him after 6 years? Sans was an idiot.

He stared down at his vibrating phone for a couple seconds, contemplating whether he should answer or not. His head was hurting badly, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle Undyne’s loud voice at the moment. Not to mention he just really wasn’t in the mood to hear people nag him about doing something productive.

On the other hand, Sans was incredibly curious about why Undyne was calling him. He hadn’t really spoken to her one on one since…

Well.

Since ever really.

She was Pap’s friend, and the most he had talked to her was about Papyrus. After Papyrus had gone missing, he knew that besides himself she was probably the most affected by Paps disappearance. From what he had heard, she was heavily involved in the police search for a long time before it was called off. Yet throughout that, she and Sans had never really spoken to each other much besides about details of Pap’s disappearance. From what Sans remembered, she was currently working as the police handler of monster affairs as well as Asgore’s head bodyguard.

Sans genuinely could not think of a single reason for her to call him. And curiosity won over San’s antisocial mood as he finally hit the button to accept the call.

“’ello?” He spoke into the phone, his voice still scratchy from throwing up earlier.

“Sans!” Undyne exclaimed, her loud voice causing Sans to flinch.

“’sup?” Sans asked, beginning to regret answering the phone as a new wave of pain erupted from her loud voice.

“Listen punk, I wanted to call you to talk about something Toriel told me last night. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“nah.” Sans yawned, “been up for hours.”

“Hmm.” Undyne made it clear that she didn’t believe him but didn’t push the matter. “Anyways, me and Toriel were talking and I think we are both pretty worried about you.”

Sans couldn’t help but feel slightly irritated at that. Why was everyone butting into his personal life? And why did Toriel have to bring Undyne into this? Not like she had ever really done much for Sans before, why should she start now, 6 years late?

“there’s no need.” Sans spoke coldly. “’m fine.”

Undyne huffed, “No you definitely aren’t fine. From what I heard you have no job, no hobbies, no exercise. You just sit around the house all day and drown yourself in alcohol. I don’t think anyone would call that ‘fine’.”

Sans rolled his eyelights, even though he knew Undyne couldn’t see him. “well it works fine for me.”

“Listen punk, I’m coming over later today with Alph. We’ll probably be staying over for a little. Don’t worry, I can book us a hotel room, so we won’t impede on you or anything.”

“what?” Sans started, glaring down at his phone. “no undyn-“

“Great, its decided. See you later punk.”

Undyne quickly hung up the phone, leaving a stunned Sans.

Sans groaned, tossing his phone onto the floor. The throbbing pain in his skull grew louder as he dug his skeletal fingers into his eye sockets. This was just great. How the hell was he supposed to do anything with all these people breathing down his neck? Sans was still trying to figure out the mystery of what happened that night he had seen Pap, and he doubted his friends would be much help with that. They didn’t even believe he had seen Pap.

Sans paused, tiredly glancing towards the door. Honestly, he was starting to doubt himself too. It was all too bizarre. Sans was drunk half the time; he couldn’t trust his own eyes. More likely it was a stupid dream or hallucination brought about by lack of sleep.

But Sans couldn’t help but hope.

Hope that he had seen his brother that night. Hope that he might be reunited soon.

But first, Sans had an annoying fish lady to prepare for. He doubted she’s be delighted to see his house in such a disgusting state. The empty beer and ketchup bottles were unlikely to inspire any confidence of San’s well being for her. Not to mention the throw up on the floor.

Sans sighed, slowly dragging himself off the couch.

Looks like he had some cleaning to do.

\---

Undyne quickly rifled through her drawer, groaning in frustration as she once again could not find any jeans.

“Babe, have you seen my jeans?” Undyne called over her shoulder towards a yellow lizard monster packing her own bag on their bed.

“D-din’t you p-put them in the laundry?” Her girlfriend, Alphys, called back nervously.

Undyne smacked herself in the face at the realization, “Of course…” She shot Alphys a toothy grin and a ‘thanks’ as she quickly rushed out of the room to get her jeans from the laundry.

By the time she returned, Alphys had already fully packed her own bag and was sitting idle on the bed. “Geez, you are pretty efficient.” Undyne commented, tossing some jeans into her bag carelessly.

Alphys blushed slightly, walking over to Undyne. “Y-yeah, well this was all p-pretty last m-minute, but I always have a b-bag prepared just in c-case.”

Undyne nodded, sighing, “Yeah, sorry babe. I know this is very sudden and all but what Toriel said to me last night has me pretty worried.”

Alphys frowned at Undyne sympathetically, “You n-never did tell me w-what exactly she said.”

Undyne grimaced, “Apparently… Sans had some sort of dream or hallucination. It got him pretty riled up and convinced he had seen P-Papyrus.” As the name of her friend left her mouth, Undyne could feel herself tremble slightly.

Alphys softly hugged Undyne, “It’s ok.” She muttered soothingly.

Undyne took a shaky breath, clenching her fists to keep herself from crying. She didn’t want to break down in front of Alphys right before they left and she definitely couldn’t break down in front of Sans.

“I know y-you don’t like thinking a-about him too m-much.” Alphys bit her lips, “B-but if you want to h-help Sans…”

“I know. I know.” Undyne sighed, running her webbed hands through her hair. “Gotta keep it together.”

Alphys fidgeted slightly, looking at her girlfriend in concern. “L-listen… Undyne? I uh…” She glanced around nervously.

“What is it Alph?”

“Ah.. oh.. I.. Well..” Alphys took a deep breath, looking into Undyne’s eyes, “I’m w-worried about this. Honestly, I f-feel like you h-haven’t completely dealt with your own g-grief either and now you are going o-over to help Sans and-.”

Undyne frowned, her gaze hardening. “Who said I’m not over my own grief?” She snapped.

Alphys cringed away, mumbling quick apologies.

Undyne paused, her gaze softening ever so slightly. “I’m sorry babe.” She muttered, “But believe me. I’ll be fine.”

Alphys sighed, closing her eyes, “I’m just worried y-youll do what you d-did before and c-completely shut out your f-feelings again. I’m worried i-if you do that it w-wouldn’t be good for s-supporting Sans.”

“No. I.. I have to do this.” Undyne exclaimed quickly. “I have to go Alphys.”

“But why?” Alphys looked at her with questioning eyes, “Why do you-“

“Because I- I have to be there for Sans. It’s what Papyrus would have wanted.”

The words slipped out of Undyne’s mouth before she could process them, causing her to pause. As the words hung in the air, the realization of what she just said began to dawn on Undyne.

A feeling of intense déjà vu rolled over her, shocking her to her very core.

\---

_Alphys was standing timidly by the door, fidgeting slightly as she watched her girlfriend type away on the computer._

_“H-hey Undyne?” She spoke nervously, inching closer._

_Undyne hummed lightly to indicate she was listening, but gave no other response, her attention focused on the screen in front of her._

_Alphys scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, her voice coming out barely louder than a whisper. “Uh so… T-tori and F-frisk are moving away soon. And… Apparently S-Sans decided to go with t-them. And we k-know the move is going to be h-hard so we decided to g-give them a going away p-party and I think you should a-attend. He’s going to n-need all the s-support he can get.”_

_Undyne gave little more than a small grunt, her hands still typing furiously on her keyboard._

_“Undyne?” Alphys called out, a hint of worry in her voice, “D-did you hear what I s-said?”_

_Undyne finally tore her eyes away from the screen and turned to look at her girlfriend. Alphys couldn’t help but gasp slightly at the sight of Undyne’s face. She had huge bags under her blood shot eyes and her hair was an absolute mess._

_“Look Alph, I’m busy right now. So just tell them that, ok?”_

_Alphys fidgeted slightly, glancing towards the computer, “What are you…”_

_“Another report of monster harassment. I need to get this case filed in before tomorrow.” Undyne commented, returning back to her computer._

_“D-don’t you think y-you’ve worked e-enough?” Alphys said timidly, “I-I mean… It’s just… You h-havent taken any breaks and I-im worried about y-you.”_

_Undyne frowned, leaning closer towards her computer. “I can’t stop Alph. I can’t stop now. I have to get this done. I have to help them.”_

_“B-but what about S-Sans?” Alphys asked, “He n-needs you too. And I’m h-honestly a little w-worried about you. I t-think this would be g-good for you to d-discuss… about… you know.”_

_Undyne paused, her hands clenched. “I don’t know what you mean.” She spoke in a monotone voice._

_“Undyne w-why do you do this t-to yourself?” Alphys moaned, walking over to Undyne._

_“I’m just… I have to this. For him.” Undyne paused slightly, her mouth trembling, “I mean. I have to do this for them.”_

_“You have to be there for Sans too. Please, it’s what Papyrus would have wanted.” Alphys exclaimed pleadingly._

_Undyne flinched as the name left Undyne’s mouth, her hands beginning to shake. “Don’t.” She spoke sharply, though her voice held a bit of a tremble, “I can’t stop now. I’m so close. I have to protect him. I have to find him. I have to… I can’t let anyone else… I don’t..” Undyne felt tears begin to fall from her eyes as she stuttered. So many emotions began to fill her mind as she sat, trembling._

_All this time she had pushed any thoughts of sadness and grief out of her mind, instead allowing her anger and determination to drive her. She refused to fall apart because if she did, how could she be of help to Papyrus? How could she be of help to anyone?_

_So Undyne couldn’t stop working. Because she knew if she did, she would just fall apart._

_Undyne sat, sniffling slightly as she gathered herself. She allowed the familiar feeling of anger to wash away any feeling of sadness as she turned back to her computer._

_“Sorry Alphys.” She spoke evenly, barely giving the concerned lizard a second glance, “I have to get this done.”_

_Alphys stood behind her for a few seconds, an expression of helplessness on her face. But she knew when Undyne was determined to do something, there was nothing one could do to convince her otherwise. So, with a sigh, Alphys softly said goodbye and left._

_And by the time Alphys returned from the going away party, Undyne was still sitting at her desk, typing away on the computer_.

\---

As the memory washed over Undyne, she could feel tears prick at her eyes. A feeling of intense regret overtook her as she slowly sank to the floor.

“I know I didn’t handle his disappearance well.” She spoke softly, averting Alphys’ eyes. “I know I used work as an excuse to not acknowledge my grief. I just… I felt like I should have done more. I felt like I should have been strong enough to protect him. And maybe… I felt like if I threw myself into my work and protected all these other monsters, I could make up for what I couldn’t do for him.”

Undyne’s voice cracked as the first big tear fell from her eye, “But doing all that never brought him back. It never changed the past. And it took me so many years to realize that. It took me far too long to realize that I couldn’t do anything to change what happened in the past, but I could have done something for the people who suffered from it. I could have done something for Sans.”

Undyne slowly looked up to find a tearful Alphys staring back at her. “And this time... This time I want to be there for Sans. I wasn’t there for him before, but I have the ability to make up for it now. I was just a coward. I couldn’t accept that Papyrus would have wanted me to help his brother more than he’d want me to work tirelessly to bring him back.”

She gave a watery laugh, “He’s a selfless bastard like that…”

She sighed, “He was also always stronger than me because of it. He would have handled all this amazingly. Not like the mess I turned out to be…”

Alphys gave a soft whine as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. “Oh Undyne. Thank you… F-for opening up to me.” She rested her head on Undyne’s shoulder, “I d-didn’t know h-how much you blamed yourself f-for this. And I d-don’t think it makes you w-weak to feel sad or h-helpless. I think we all felt like we should have done more."

Undyne snickered softly, “Well I know that now. I just wish it hadn’t taken me this long to figure it out.”

Alphys smiled softly at Undyne, “And I think i-its amazing you are d-doing something about it n-now. You are really i-inspiring. You never g-give up.”

“Thanks, Alph. Honestly, I think you are the inspiring one here. You were always there for me, even when I was being incredibly frustrating. And I love you so much because of it.”

Alphys smiled, “I l-love you too.”

The two shared their embrace for a few more minutes before Undyne finally pulled away. She wiped the tears from her eyes, slowly standing up.

“Come on, let’s finish packing. We got a plane to catch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly think my favorite part about this fic is trying to imagine how each character would react to Paps disapearence.  
> I feel like Sans and Undyne are both similarly badly affected by it. They both blame themselves and have trouble coming to terms with the idea. Undyne just shuts out her feelings however and Sans wallow in them. 
> 
> Also, I had planned to have the call from Undyne in the last chapter but I had gotten distracted. I also planned to have a huge plot thing concerning pap to happen in this chapter but I held it off again. SORRYYYYYYYY!!!  
> :V  
> but I hope y'all enjoy.


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